Dropbox - App Review

If you are using more than one device, be it PC, Smartphone, tablet, or laptop, it won't be long until you have a file in one place and you want to access it from another. Shortly after you have resolved that issue (and syncing with iTunes is not pretty), you will come across the next hurdle: which one is the current version. Enter Dropbox.

Dropbox is a free service that enables you to have access to your documents from anywhere, from any device. As the updating of files is automatic when you save, the version is always the latest one, everywhere. If that's all one could do with Dropbox, it would already be excellent value (and as it's free, you couldn't complain anyway.

There are however, three more excellent attributes to Dropbox.

• You can have a 'public' folder, in which you can share documents with anyone; all you need do is give the address to anyone (and remember that they may in turn pass it on to someone else).

• You can also have shared folder(s) where you give others access to information. In this way you can share information privately with only those you choose.

•  Dropbox automatically takes 'snapshots' of your information every time it changes. So when the inevitable happens and you accidentally 'mess up' that document you have been working on for months, don't worry. Just go into your Dropbox account and roll back to the correct version.

This is not a sexy app that makes you want to buy an iPad; it is far more than that, it is an indispensable tool for anyone who works with files of any kind, be they spreadsheets, documents, music, photographs, or anything else.

Now for the ACIDS test:

Aesthetics
The iPad Version of the App handles both landscape and portrait orientation in an intelligent way. Viewing saved documents is excellent. There's nothing particularly 'sexy' about it but, it works and is very easy to use. The fact is that once you are actively using Dropbox, you will rarely (if ever) use the App itself; you'll just let the automatic synchronising take care of itself.

Cost
The App is entirely free. The first 2 GB of storage is also free, and can be increased to a very generous 18 GB by effectively helping the developers by introducing others or 'liking' them. Thereafter, there are various plans for having more space.


Indispensability
Once you start using Dropbox (probably from your PC), you'll wonder how you lived without it. As you add Apps to your iOS device (iPhone/iPad), it will become even more a cornerstone of your data sharing experience. If you have data in one place that you could do with somewhere else, Dropbox is absolutely indispensable; full stop (and full marks for that matter).


Dependability
I have been using Dropbox since September 2010; it has never let me down. It's not possible to ask for more.


Security
Dropbox claim that "your files are actually safer while stored in your Dropbox than on your computer in some cases. We use the same secure methods as banks ", and I have no reason to doubt them. The fact that a copy of your data is also being stored somewhere outside your direct control is however a risk, however small. As you give other Apps access to your Dropbox, the potential for data 'leakage' will increase. Don't be too alarmed by this; treat it more as the over cautions "may contain nuts" warning on a packet of peanuts, rather than the "smoking kills" on a packet of cigarettes.



ACIDS Test Rating:

 You've just got to have it!

To find out how the ACIDS Test works, click here.

You can get Dropbox here and the iPad App here.